Skaters pack Oval for Irving Jaffee

January 25, 2017

LAKE PLACID - The Lake Placid Olympic Oval was packed with skaters from the United States and Canada last weekend at the Irving Jaffee Single Distance Championships, hosted by the Lake Placid Speed Skating Club.

Meanwhile in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, members of the Adirondack Speedskating Club were busy putting in strong showings at the AmCup 2 event.

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Article Photos

Trevor Marsicano races to the finish line of the 1,000 meter race while Canadian competitor Ross Hanham looks on during last week’s Irving Jaffee Single Distance Championships at the Olympic Oval in Lake Placid.Photo — Christie Sausa

Irving Jaffee Single Distance Championships

Nearly 50 skaters from throughout North America participated in the Irving Jaffee Single Distance Championships on Saturday, Jan. 21 and Sunday, Jan. 22 at the Lake Placid Olympic Oval. The skaters came from Ontario, Canada and from throughout the eastern U.S. to participate in the Championships, which included six distances: the 500-meter, 1,000-meter, 1,500-meter, 3,000-meter, 5,000-meter and the 10,000-meter races. Skaters under age 7 performed in two distances: the 100- and 300-meter races.

Each distance was skated like an individual event, and overall male and female winners were crowned for each.

The event is named for Irving Jaffee, a speed skater from New York City who won the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races in the 1932 Lake Placid Olympics. Along with Jack Shea, who won gold in the 500- and 1,500-meter races, Jaffee became the most successful athlete at those Games.

Jaffee is considered one of the Legends of the Oval, and his image joins four others including Shea and Eric Heiden on the Legends of the Oval board at the track.

Last week in Lake Placid, Olivier Tremblay, of the Gloucester Concordes speed skating team, and Alexandria Franz, of the Adirondack Speedskating Club, took first place in the 100-meter races. The overall winners of the 300 meter race were Tremblay and his sister Madeleine Tremblay, also of the Gloucester Concordes.

Elite masters skaters claimed four overall titles this weekend. Glenn Corso of the Flushing Meadows Speed Skating Club won the overall mens' title in the 5,000, while Kathy Feinberg of the Rochester Speed Skating Team won the overall ladies' title at the same distance.

The 10,000 became a exciting pack-style event as all skaters skated together and the top male skaters raced to close photo finishes. Marty Haire of the Saratoga Winter Club won the men's overall title in the 10,000 and Carole Moore of the Flushing Meadows Speed Skating Club won the ladies' overall title at the distance. All of these masters skaters compete in elite Masters competitions Nationally and Internationally.

Canadian skaters took home seven overall trophies. Friends and teammates Claire Mallard and Rachel Freitag, of the Ottawa Pacers speed skating team, won two distances apiece. Mallard won the 1,000 and 3,000 overall ladies trophy, while Freitag took the 500- and 1,500-meter overall awards.

"(I was) really happy to win two distances," Mallard said. "I have made technical improvements and felt that I was able to put them on the ice. I was happiest with the 1,000 sprint distance; I have been working hard on that."

Freitag was also happy with her performance.

"I received new personal bests in three out of the four races I raced," she said. "Coming first overall in the 500m and 1500m was amazing, but I am just so happy to have been able to get great times this weekend."

Trevor Marsicano, a 1,000 meter world champion in 2009 and an Olympic silver medalist in 2010, won the most titles last week at the Irving Jaffee. He won the 500, 1,000, 1,500 and 3,000.

Marsicano has been training in Lake Placid on the weekends, while coaching for the Lake Placid Speed Skating Club. He plans to compete in more Lake Placid meets this season.

"(It's) always nice to have a win, but definitely a win to be able to skate with masters and young skaters, and see them persevere through the distances, especially the older skaters," Marsicano said. "It was a fun weekend."

For more information the Lake Placid Speed Skating Club, including how to register for the Charles Jewtraw Allround Championships, visit the club website at www.lakeplacidspeed.com.

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AmCup 2

Two Lake Placid skaters and one former Lake Placid skater competed in the AmCup 2 event Jan. 20-22 in Milwaukee, and made Lake Placid proud in their events.

Lake Placid High School graduate Esther Munoz won the 500-meter race in the Junior Ladies division, won the second 500 for all Junior Ladies and set new personal-best times at the Pettit Center. Munoz trained in Lake Placid for several years before moving to Salt Lake City, Utah in the spring to continue her speed skating training.

Current Lake Placid High School students and Lake Placid Oval alumni Fletcher Codd and Sydney Yu Terpening posted strong performances. Both set personal-best times in the 3,000-meter race at the Pettit Center, with Codd earning a personal record and season's best time in his 3,000. Codd, Terpening and Munoz each set new Pettit personal best times in the 1,000- and 1,500-meter races.

Adirondack Speed Skating Club members Codd and Terpening will be returning to Lake Placid to train and attend school. They will train most afternoons on the Olympic Oval.

For more information on US Speed Skating events, including AmCups, visit their website at usspeedskating.org.